bear lake 2018

Bear Lake has always been one of our favorite places to go, but life got busy the last few years and we weren't able to do our annual camping trip. With Ryan graduating from high school this year and leaving in August to serve a mission in Mexico, we decided to make it a priority this summer.

Four of his friends were able to join us, and so last Monday, we headed out, cars packed to the brim, and started the two-and-a-half hour drive through a beautiful canyon. I don't know what Ryan and his friends listened to, but "The Greatest Showman" soundtrack blasted from our speakers and kept the younger Crack Monkeys entertained.

And then, it wasn't very long before this greeted us:

We love the campsites at Rendezvous Beach, which is located on the south end of the lake. This is the view of our campsite from the parking lot; the pathway goes straight thru a sort of grove of trees, which we thought was awesome.

Since there were ten of us, we reserved two side-by-side campsites and set up.

Ryan and his friends are really into hammocks at the moment, and brought theirs to hang out in. You can't see it in the picture, but there are 4 of them set up; they were extremely happy that our campsites had trees close enough to hang their hammocks.

And what we love the most is that the beach is right there. You walk a few feet and bam! Beach! Water! Fun!

After camp was set up, we let the kids loose. Jeff immediately went for a swim and managed to convince Vanessa to join him. Ryan and his friends eventually made their way into the water, while the rest of us just hung out and relaxed.

Which meant a few selfies on the beach, lol.

A video of the lake in the evening...

And, another video of our firepit shenanigans...

father's day 2018

I just wanted to take a moment to say Happy Father's Day to all of the fathers and father figures out there who have blessed others with their love, wisdom, and presence. We love and appreciate you!

graduation

It's been a busy last 2 days, and I'm not afraid to admit that I'm glad the weekend is coming! And, wouldn't you know that all of the hoopla centered around Ryan. I guess that's what we get for having him graduate this year. ;-)

Seminary Graduation was up first. It happened on Wednesday (30th), which surprised me, considering it's been on the Sunday before high school graduation in the past. But, Wednesday night it was, and it was an amazing program. I wish I could have gotten a shot at the graduating class, but we're encouraged not to take pictures in the chapel. But, it was a spectacular sight to see how many students there were when our Stake President invited the seniors to stand and be acknowledged.

There was a funny bit that happened during the program: Ryan was 1 of 3 students to have his full name read when the diplomas were passed out. Mind you, I gave all of my kids a Hawaiian middle name so it can make pronunciation a bit difficult. The announcer did his best, but the length of Ryan's name coupled with his middle name made quite a few people chuckle. I still don't know why they read his full name and not the others. Oh, well.

Afterwards, we were able to mingle in the cultural hall and have some ice cream. I practically had to chase Ryan around to get a picture; he was too busy socializing. :-)

I love this picture of Ryan and his friend Ryan. Our families both moved into the neighborhood at roughly the same time, so these two have been friends since they were 5 years old. We call them The Ryans. :-)

I finally cornered him into taking a picture.

And, of course, once they started to gather, the parents took the opportunity to snap a few pics. Here's how the group started...

And then more joined in.

And, even more awesome young men joined in.

And, even more.

I love that these boys have been friends since they were little; they're such awesome young men and I'm so grateful for the influence they've had on Ryan.

The next day was graduation for Ryan's high school. He had to be at the events arena about 2 hours before it started, and we made it about an hour before it all went down.

This is how Vanessa and I felt when we realized they wanted us to stand while all 800 graduating seniors made their way to their seats, lol.

I was able to stand for a small portion of it, but had to sit down because my legs were going numb. It takes awhile to seat 800 students, yikes! But, I did get to see Ryan enter, so that was exciting.

As far as graduation ceremonies go, it was the standard: speakers, speakers, and more speakers. ;-) We were treated to a video by the principal made by Ryan's best friend Isaac; it was Mr. Q's commencement speech in video form because he admitted that he wouldn't be able to keep it together if he did it live. Mr. Q, after performing his magic at Copper Hills, will become the principal at another high school. He is the very definition of what a school educator is and is an amazing person. We wish him the very best in the future!

Afterwards, we had to sit through the awarding of the (800!) diplomas, and then, it was all over. Amazingly, I didn't cry; I thought I would, but I didn't.

We then went outside to try and track Ryan down. He refused to let me make a huge sign for him to be able to find us, and as a result, we couldn't find him in the crowd for awhile. My brother Ben finally found him, so we subjected him to some leis and picture posing, lol.

I made sure to get one of him and Scott since Scott wasn't able to make it to Seminary Graduation (Jeff had soccer tryouts that night, all the way on the other side of the valley).

And, of course I had to get one of all my Crack Monkeys together. The younger 3 were really proud of their older brother even though they had to sit through a long 2 hour ceremony, I promise!

And, he also had to take a picture with his grandparents and aunt and uncle.

Another longtime childhood friend.

Love these boys!

We were hoping that Scott's mom would be able to make it, but she was at Ryan's cousin's graduation up at the U of U. It was earlier than Ryan's, but being that it was a high school graduation, we figured it would run long. We told Ama (Ryan's nickname for Scott's mom) to not worry if she wasn't able to make it, but she said she'd try, considering she wanted to see him.

And, just like that, everything was done. This year was an amazing year for him with student government, and it was fun as his mom to watch him. I know he made it his best year yet and is sad that it's come to an end, but now he has his future laid out in front of him and it sure is bright!

Congratulations, Ryan! We are so proud of everything you've accomplished and for the young man you've become. We love you!